


Theoretical Frameworks for Navigating Intimate Bonds

by oneofthemuses



Category: Community
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-16
Updated: 2012-02-16
Packaged: 2017-10-31 06:33:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/341014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oneofthemuses/pseuds/oneofthemuses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the Milady_Milord Secret Admirer V-Day Fic Exchange 2012.  This was prompted by crittab.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Theoretical Frameworks for Navigating Intimate Bonds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crittab](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crittab/gifts).



> I was exhausted. It wasn't beta'ed. So I may eventually edit this so that it's more coherent (I switched tenses a lot!) if I get some free time. 20/02/2012 - looking through the story, there were two paragraphs missing and a "1. sentencesentencesentence" instead! Argh. Corrected now!

They had slept together at the end of their third year at Greendale.  And the feelings had been…  Scary.  They had been scary.  Jeff was man enough to admit (okay, man enough to admit it _seven years later_ ) that he had backed off.  Scared of what he would do to Annie, scared of what she would do to him, scared of how _badly_ he wanted it to work out with her.  In fourth year, when they kept dating other people, kept breaking up with other people, and kept falling into each other’s orbit, it had stopped making sense.  They were occasionally sleeping together.  They hung out as friends.  They depended on each other for emotional support.  Jeff was ready to fight for more.  For all that Annie was only 22 then, she hadn’t been a kid.  Quietly, consciously, fully aware of the commitment they were making, they started dating nearing the end of their fourth year.  It had worked out.  Until now.

 

“I need to explain this to you.  Please, let me explain…”

 

“Was it some sort of fucked up tit-for-tat?  Like, ‘gee, Jeff was banging Britta for _ages_ , seems only fair that I get even with both of them!’”  Jeff was calm.  Eerily calm.  Not a good calm. 

 

Annie knew it wasn’t the time to get angry with him for the accusations he was making – Jeff _knew_ Annie didn’t hold his past with Britta against either of them.  He knew that.  But now wasn’t really the time for Annie to defend herself.  She had messed up and accepting responsibility was part of being an adult, part of being in a relationship.  Annie had enough experience with both at this point to take a deep breath and prepare herself for whatever else he wanted to say to her. 

 

“Was it some kind of experiment?  A road not taken.  Finally fulfill all those high school fantasies?  You said you were past that.  You said I had no reason to worry.  So why, Annie?  Just tell me why.”  There was anger there now, beneath the calm.

 

“You and I, we’d been fighting.  They had been fighting.  We got drunk and we were being stupid, and petty, and dealing with our issues in the wrong way.  As soon as it happened, we knew.  We stopped and we just…  We knew.  That it was wrong.  Because we were with other people, people that we loved, because we didn’t want each other that way…  For so many reasons.  And I know you’re angry.  I understand that and I accept that, full responsibility.  You also need to know that I love you, and I’m willing to do whatever you need me to do to make this better.”  Annie had attempted to keep a tight rein on her emotions but she knew she had sounded tearful.  Mostly because she had been tearful.  But not a single tear had fallen yet, and Annie refused to let them, to make Jeff think for even a second that she would try to manipulate him.

 

Jeff huffed out a breath.  “I know that I don’t want this to be the end of us.  But I also don’t know how to fix it right now.”  He took another breath, and forced himself to be honest, “I don’t want to wonder, every time we have a fight and you leave, if this might happen.  I knew, when we started dating, that you still had growing up to do and that might mean we wouldn’t always be together.  I knew that.”  Jeff didn’t know where to go from there.  Was he supposed to leave?  He had nowhere to go, really.  Britta was out of the question, she was dealing with the same situation.  Jeff was smart enough to know that if he and Britta met up right now, they would do something stupid.  And petty.  And deal with their issues in the wrong way.  The way that would involve sex.  Another deep breath, and he felt legitimately calmer.

 

“Look, it’s 1AM, and…  I can’t deal with this right now.  I’m going to go to bed and…  We’ll.  We’ll talk in the morning, okay?”  Jeff was left feeling deflated and wrung out.  The anger was gone and he was left feeling hurt and sort of lost, like his anchor was gone.

 

“Oh…  Okay, yeah.  I’ll just grab my stuff and…  I’ll see you in the morning.”  Annie didn’t hesitate to agree.  She didn't want to push him to resolve things tonight.  Never going to bed angry was a wonderful idea but sometimes, it just wasn’t possible to achieve.  Annie wasn’t sure what to do, though, on hearing Jeff’s decision.  Was she supposed to leave?  Troy and Abed’s was out.  For obvious reasons.  And Britta’s.  The full force of her bad decision hit her and Annie suddenly wanted to lock herself in the bathroom and cry in the shower.  One stupid decision and almost everyone she loved was hurt and alienated.  _Great._   Annie squared her shoulders, managed a brief, tremulous smile, and decided she would head to the 24-hour café down the block.  It wasn’t like she would be getting any sleep tonight anyway.

 

“Where are you going?”  Annie had already slipped past Jeff, moving towards their bedroom, when he tossed the question out there.

 

Annie stopped and looked at him over her shoulder.  She wasn’t sure what answer he wanted.  “I was going to give you some privacy.  Some room to think.”  It wasn’t a lie.

 

“You were going to leave?”  The ‘again’ part of that question was left silent, but hung there, in the air between them.  The question managed to sound casual and yet, it was heavy with quiet accusation.  Or maybe that was just her guilt that made her feel it that way, Annie considered silently.

 

“I didn’t think you wanted me around right now.  I…  I don’t want to make this worse.”  Annie was still being honest.  If she couldn’t cry in the shower, by herself over a cup of coffee in a quiet diner seemed fitting.  Poetic somehow.  She was sure it was something you would see in movies all the time – meaningful and emotive.  Without meaning to, she glanced at the window but no, it wasn’t raining.  To be this anguished on a beautiful night was somehow worse.  Pathetic fallacy was comforting, if overused.

 

“I think…  I think if we’re going to get past this, we need to stop leaving.”  Jeff’s word were measured, coming out slowly, as if he was pondering them even as he spoke.  Annie nodded, even though he wasn’t looking at her to see it.

 

“Okay.  Okay.  I’ll just change, then, and I’ll be on the couch, okay?”  Annie knew she was being, perhaps, overly soliticious but she was so, so terrified that she had messed everything up beyond repair.

 

“Why would you sleep on the couch?  Did Troy give you cooties?”  Jeff’s questions were deceptively casual this time. He was finally looking at her but Annie could tell that as much as he was trying to be nonchalant about it, there was real insecurity there.  Jeff had never been the jock and he wasn't really all that young anymore.  He was still hot.  But not all that young.

 

Annie’s smile was a little more steady this time.  “No, no cooties from Troy.  Just the cold you gave me last week still…”  Annie gasped.  “You gave me a cold last week!  The entire study group is going to be sick!”

 

Jeff couldn’t help it.  He laughed.  “I doubt Troy will be kissing Britta anytime soon.”  Jeff paused for a moment.  “On the mouth, anyway.”  Annie hoped it didn’t show, but if Jeff’s first statement felt like being punched, Jeff’s addendum had given her a bit of hope.  It wasn’t the answer, the way to make this ugly situation better, she knew, but she’d be willing to give Jeff a thousand blowjobs if it would help even things out.

 ------

He could hear her brushing her teeth.  Jeff lay there, still and silent in the semi-darkness, having already taken his turn in the bathroom.  He wondered what had possessed him to say they should share a bed tonight.  Not because he hated her.  He wasn’t even all that angry anymore.  No, because it was _awkward_.  He remembered the first time they shared a bed, before they had actually had sex.  It hadn’t been awkward at all.  He could recall the details of that night clearly.

 

*********

It was some random road trip in their third year and they’d grabbed hotel rooms and of course, Troy and Abed were sharing.  Jeff was supposed to be in their room too but upon hearing they planned to reenact as many comedy tropes involving hotels as they could, he had bailed.  Pierce was getting his own room and Shirley and her family were in another.  That left Britta and Annie sharing which would have been fine if Abed and Troy’s hadn’t decided to drag everyone down to the bar.  Last he’d seen, Britta had been flirting with a pair of yuppie saps.  A half hour after returning to his room, he’d heard a knock and Annie had been standing there, looking pained.

 

“Um, the guys from the bar didn’t…  Didn’t stay in the bar.  So my room is not really a place I want to be right now?”  Her voice had lifted at the end and his brow had furrowed.

 

“Wait, so, both of those guys are in your room?  Wow.  That is unexpected.  You don’t seem sure whether your room is off-limits.  Did they ask you if you wanted to watch?  Because if they don’t ask you to stay, it’s basic bedroom etiquette to leave, Annie.”  Jeff summoned his smarmiest grin.

 

“Eww, no, Jeff!  Only one of them is in our room.  But they were losing clothes pretty fast.  And they didn’t really acknowledge me but I figured I should go.”  Annie leaned in closer to Jeff, voice dropping low, “Did you know you look like Corny Collins from Hairspray when you smile like that?”  She was studying him curiously and Jeff dropped the grin, his previous joy in grossing Annie out gone, like sand through an hourglass.

 

“Just come in, you can stay here tonight.”  Jeff stepped back and pulled the door open wider for her.  “You cool with pizza and porn?  Because the night was kind of headed in that direction.”  He side-eyed Annie as she moved past him.  He only barely managed to smooth his face out when she whipped around to stare at him in horror.

 

“Jeff!  That’s gross!” Annie slapped at his chest while he cackled gleefully, glad to have accomplished his previous goal and more.  Annie shook her head in exasperation and flopped into the armchair by the window.  “So…  What were you actually doing?”

 

“Just channel surfing, Annie.  The _regular_ channels.  You can even have the remote if you promise not to choose anything from Nickoledeon.”  He looked at her and smiled.  “Or Treehouse.”  Annie had folded her arms across her chest and stared at him unimpressed.  She reached over to pick up the remote from where he had tossed it on the bed and hit the channel return button.  She smirked at him.

 

“Oh, what is…  Is this The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants?  Oh, oh, Jeff…  Oh, Jeff, _it is_!”  She squealed the last bit, clearly excited.  “I thought it was going to be porn but…  Oh, this is so much better.”

 

“I can’t help what the last person in here was watching.  I was watching…”  Jeff struggled to remember what had been on the last channel but kept drawing a blank.  “…  The Big Bang Theory?”  Annie continued to stare at him, eyes sparkling, biting her lip to hold in the laughter, as she flipped back to the previous channel, the channel that was playing a loop of the weather conditions.  In Spanish.  Jeff closed his eyes for a moment and then nodded gamely.  “Well.  Surely you can understand why I would be confused…  It’s about as mind-numbing, right?”  Annie snickered.

 

“It is, but you’re still lying!  Oh, Jeff, there’s an impressionable teenage girl buried inside you, isn’t there?”  Annie’s fluttered her eyelashes at him dramatically, still grinning.

 

“Impressionable teenage girls and I have had nothing to do with each other for at least a decade, Annie.”  Jeff stopped short, realizing that was a false statement.  He made eye contact with Annie and realized she was biting her lip again, holding in laughter.  “You being the exception that proves the rule.”  Instead of being offended by the implication that she was impressionable, Annie looked thoughtful before smiling once again.

 

“That doesn’t rule out _all_ teenage girls, Jeff.” 

 

“You’re becoming dangerous, Annie.  For an entirely different reason these days.”  Annie’s smile was wide as Jeff flopped on to the bed, conceding the argument to Annie.  He lay there, watching her as she idly flicked through the channels until she realized she was being stared at it.  She lifted her brow at him in question.  “So…  Can we finish watching it or what?”

***********

 

That night had passed without a single moment of awkwardness and paved the way for them to begin hanging out alone on occasion, texting back and forth.  It had led to inside jokes and gag gifts.  It had cemented the burgeoning possibility of a real, adult relationship between the two of them.  Here they were seven years later and…  It was awkward.  Jeff was 40 and spending the night with a woman was suddenly awkward.  Thinking about his age led him right back to what Jeff had been trying to avoid thinking about as he lay quietly in bed, uneasy at the idea of sharing a bed with Annie.

 

She and Troy had kissed.  She had been dating Jeff for six years.  Living with him for two and a half years and after a rather ugly fight, she had kissed another man.  Annie had kissed Troy.  Jeff didn’t know what to do with that.  Troy was Annie’s age, loveable if exasperating.  In shape and attractive, with the added benefit of being someone Annie knew, liked and trusted already.  Really, Jeff couldn’t think of a good reason why Annie _shouldn’t_ date Troy.  Except that Jeff had thought she was happy dating him.  Jeff flopped back against the pillows again, closing his eyes and sighing.  His mind kept running in circles and it didn’t appear that he would be able to resolve anything by himself.

 

His body tensed as he heard the door to the bathroom that adjoined their room creak open.  He opened his eyes as he heard her footsteps pad closer.  “Jeff?  Can I say something?”  Annie’s voice was quiet and subdued but calm and clear.  Jeff took a deep breath, exhaled and then nodded at her to continue. 

 

“I love you, and I know that you know that.  It doesn’t fix what I did tonight, though.  And it doesn’t fix our fight from earlier.  We had a really ugly fight tonight.  You said that you didn’t see yourself having children, ever.  That didn’t just surprise me, that _hurt_ me.  It’s no excuse for what I did and I’m not bringing it up as an excuse.  But…”  And here, Annie was the one closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, before continuing.  “But I think it brought up some important issues.  Like our future.  I’m 27, Jeff.  We’ve been together for six years and I _love_ you.  I know you, and I know how you think.  You’re wondering if I want to be with Troy and…  Jeff, even if I wasn’t in love with you, the answer would be no.  I lived with him, Jeff.  I _saw_ things, Jeff!  Things no other person should see…”  Annie’s voice had risen in pitch.  She shuddered before shaking it off.  She looked at Jeff, forcing herself to maintain eye contact instead of talking to the bed as she wanted.

 

“I know who Troy is.  And he is a wonderful man.  But he wouldn’t be wonderful for me.  I know that already.  Tonight, we were both upset and we were both a little drunk and we lashed out because we were hurt and angry and reacting instead of dealing with our emotions like adults.  The way we reacted tonight?  That’s exactly why Troy and I would be terrible together.  We both having growing to do and we wouldn’t be able to do it in a relationship together.”  Annie closed her eyes for a brief second again.  “You said earlier that if we wanted this to work, we had to stop leaving.  Jeff, I want this to work.  So, so much.  I’m willing to talk about this now or we can wait until morning…  It’s just that…  Jeff, I feel like you lied to me and I need to know why.  I mean, all the books say wanting children is an issue you can’t compromise on so I made sure to ask!”  A smile flickered across his face at Annie’s admission.  The idea that she had read relationship books when they started dating was not a surprise but the fact that she hadn’t directly cited one before?  That was a shocker.  “Your turn.”

 

“You really don’t want Troy?”  Jeff couldn’t help the insecurity in his voice.  Annie nearly sobbed.  She scooted from her seat on the edge of the bed to sit closer to Jeff and grabbed his hand.

 

“Jeff, oh...  I really don’t feel that way about Troy at all.  You once told us that unlike a family, there was nothing to stop us from looking at each other as sexual prospects.  And I guess that’s technically true.  But do you know what I realized when I kissed Troy?”  Jeff intertwined their fingers.  “That he was like my brother.  And just because I could potentially see him as a sexual prospect doesn’t mean I had to – there was nothing there.  Yeah, Troy might be attractive but I have no desire to be with him.  Not romantically, not sexually.  He’s just not you.”  Jeff examined their hands threaded together, pausing and trying to gather his thoughts.

 

“Okay…  Believe it or not, I get it.  I mean, I’ve been there.  Wanting someone, getting to know them, realizing it wouldn’t work?  And eventually realizing that you’re beyond that point with them.  Been there, done that.”  He bumped her shoulder with his.  Annie rolled her eyes. 

 

“I’m aware, Jeff, thanks.”  He caught her making a face at him in his peripheral vision.  The scrunched up nose and crossed eyes made _him_ roll his eyes at _her_.  He was thoughtful when he spoke again.

 

“I don’t like what you did, Annie.  But I can understand it.  I almost made some bad choices tonight too.  If I had been drinking, I might honestly have tried.”  He winced when he realized the next thing he had to address.  “Annie…  I…  I didn’t exactly lie, you know.  I mean, when the subject of kids used to come up, it was such an abstract idea.  When we first started dating, as much as I liked you, I was sure I was going to fuck it up or you were going to get bored or something was going to go wrong and we’d end up having ex-sex for a while before you met someone new and moved to New York.  Or something.”  Annie eyed him like he was nuts. 

 

“Would you quit looking at me like that?  I was prepared for the worst, okay?  And that was the most common scenario I imagined.  I never really thought kids would be a real possibility.  They were always just a hypothetical.  Before I knew it, we were five years in and…”  Jeff faltered for a moment.  He continued quietly.  “You aren’t the only one that’s read relationship books, Annie.  A lot of them say kids are a stressor that some relationships just can’t handle.  Or, did you know that alcoholism and abuse are often cyclical – that you’re more likely to engage in those patterns of behaviour if you were exposed to them in childhood?”  Annie’s grip on his hand tightened, drawing his attention.  She lifted his chin and turned his face toward her with her free hand.

 

“Jeff, I understand that you might have fears about having children.  I won’t pretend I understand everything about your childhood but I’ve met your father and you are not him.  I know you.  I’ve known you for almost 10 years, Jeff!  I know who you are and I know what you’re capable of.  If you truly don’t want kids and never will because you don’t like children or you enjoy a child-free lifestyle or you think parenting sounds awful, well…  I can’t change those things.  But if you don’t want kids because you worry you might be a crappy father?”  Annie began stabbing her finger into his chest, punctuating each word with a poke.  “Well, Jeffrey Tobias Winger, I guarantee you that you’d be wrong.”  Jeff grabbed her poking finger with one hand, the other coming up to rub at his chest.  He lifted his t-shirt away from him to peek in and check for bruising before looking at Annie.

 

“Annie… You can’t guarantee that. I could come home, stressed out from work, and one glass of scotch turns into two, and then I’m yelling at my kid to shut up ‘cause Daddy’s had a tough day and doesn’t want to hear his high-pitched screaming. Bam. Suddenly I’m my father.” Jeff watched Annie’s face smoothed out and even after all these years, it was like watching her pull on an actual mask.

 

“Jeff, I believe you know my formidable face? It means I am being assertive and I am making eye contact. And Jeff? Jeff, I am getting results.” Annie was earnest in her delivery. “Jeff, I will always, always support you however I can. But if you’re worried that you’re going to do something to hurt me, or hurt any kids we might have, trust me when I say I would never allow that to happen. Our friends? Those friends that meddle and interfere and get involved in every aspect of our lives whether we want them to or not? They would not let that happen. We can do this. Together. It wouldn’t be all on you, babe. If you wanted to start therapy again, Jeff, we could go together, if you want?” Annie didn’t look all that formidable by the time she finished. Instead, she was pressed against Jeff’s side, holding his hand, sounding confident in him.

 

“Annie, I won’t lie to you. I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to that place you’re so confident about. As much as I wish it could, one conversation alone doesn’t magically solve everything that came up tonight.”

 

 “I know, Jeff.  You said that you didn’t want this to be the end of us.  And I don’t want this to be the end of us either.  I want children, Jeff.  I want them with you.  I messed up tonight.  You’re dealing with a lot of stuff, not just my mistakes.  I think…  If we’re both committed to this, we could benefit from counselling.  You were doing really well when you were seeing Dr. Flintoff when we were at Greendale.  You didn’t look for another therapist when she moved her practice.  If you don’t want to do couples’ counselling, maybe you’d consider talking to someone about you feel is more objective about this?”

 

 “I’ve been thinking about it for a while.  Not for us, together, but…  Maybe that would be a good idea too?  I don’t know.”  Jeff was considering Annie’s suggestions carefully.  He had considered going back to therapy.  He had realized a while back that the starting a family would eventually come up and they would be discussing it as an impending reality, not an abstract concept.  Before tonight, he hadn’t given the idea of couples’ counselling a single thought.  He caught a glimpse of the time and he paused.  “It’s after 2AM.  Annie, we can probably discuss the details in the morning, yeah?”

 

“What?  Wow.  Okay, yeah.  That sounds good.”  Annie smiled at him.  “I love you.”  Jeff smiled back, his reaction to hearing those words from her was practically involuntary at this point.

 

“Love you, too.”  He turned off his bedside lamp and leaned over to kiss the top of her head before settling back.  He felt Annie settle in on her side and he closed his eyes, convinced he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.

 

\-----

 

Annie lay there an hour later, still awake and cursing Jeff’s ability to fall asleep so easily.  She knew he had felt the awkwardness when they had been getting ready for bed.  That was why she had taken extra time in the bathroom to brush her teeth, floss, and gargle with mouthwash.  She had been thinking of what to say and how to alleviate the very obvious tension between them.  It had clearly worked.  She had preferred the idea of getting it all out at once, even if it resulted in a screaming match, or him kicking her out of the bedroom, to lying awkwardly side-by-side in bed wishing there was a pillow-wall between them.  So much had come up in that conversation, things she had suspected but never had confirmed, and things she too worried about – Jeff wasn’t the only one with a messed up childhood.

 

So Annie was now lying in bed, too keyed up to sleep. She glanced at Jeff. He was half on his stomach, half on his side, one arm underneath him and the other resting near his head. Jeff rolled closer to her, his arm falling heavily over her shoulder, landing just below her breast. Annie felt a little tingle shoot through her. It had been four days since they’d had sex. The fight hadn’t come out of nowhere, after all – it had been brewing for days and neither of them had felt particularly ‘in the mood’ because of it. Jeff’s hand twitched and accidentally flicked her nipple and Annie couldn’t help it, there was a wave of arousal. She clenched her legs together and attempted to ignore it. She was not going to wake Jeff up and if she started to touch herself, she would definitely wake him up and he would likely feel obliged to participate and… Their problems would not be solved by sex and she didn’t want him to feel manipulated by it either if he was still upset.

 

Annie called up her considerable resolve and tried to practice the breathing exercises she had learned in her second year at Greendale.  Unfortunately, clearing her mind meant all she could focus on was how Jeff’s hand was practically cupping her breast.  She felt his hand twitch again, flicking her nipple once more before his palm settled right over her.  Every time Jeff breathed in and out, his palm brushed almost imperceptibly against the tightened bud.  Annie whimpered.  Her eyes flew open and she held her breath.  Jeff’s breathing didn’t change and Annie relaxed as much as she could. The ache between her legs was intensifying rather than calming.  She abandoned the breathing exercises.

 

Annie considered her options.  She could wake Jeff and he could feel manipulated or he could be enthusiastic.  She could try taking care of herself and risk waking him which would lead back to option one.  Or Annie could continue to try ignoring it and hope it went away.  As Jeff shifted again, this time from his stomach  to his side, his arm which had been lying passively across Annie, tightened and pulled her with him so she was now plastered against his side.   Between his thin briefs and her worn-out boxers, Annie decided ignoring her growing arousal was now officially off the table.  Jeff’s arm had fallen toward her hip, his hand resting just below her stomach, fingers brushing the top of her boxer-clad mons.  Annie could feel every single brush of his finger tips like a direct shock to her pleasure centre.  It was like the slowest, most torturous build to nowhere that she could ever imagine.

 

Jeff’s entire body spasmed ever so slightly and it shifted his hand lower, his fingers now just barely brushing her clit.  Annie decided that Jeff was an idiot for his agnosticism because there was a God, one who obviously hated her right now.  It had been interesting, when they first started sharing a bed, to realize that Jeff was a twitchy sleeper.  Annie would not describe the current situation as ‘interesting’ by any measure of the word.  His hand curling and relaxing right over her clit was the final straw.  Her hips rocked involuntarily.  Annie no longer cared if she woke Jeff up, she had to take of the situation.  Annie began slowly moving her foot up the bed, hoping she could get her knee bent enough so her fingers had room to work without disturbing Jeff.

 

 Of course, that couldn’t possibly happen for Annie.  _Of course not. ___

As her knee was finally getting to the optimally bent angle, Jeff twitched yet again and his hand rest squarely against her overly-sensitive centre.  Annie was fairly certain she knew why they called it ‘the little death’ all of a sudden.  She glanced at the clock and realized only 20 minutes had passed since she had last looked.  Annie now had no idea what to do.  If she straightened her leg Jeff’s hand would effectively be smooshed into her core which would…  Annie refused to contemplate that any further.  And getting herself off without waking Jeff up would be next to impossible.  Jeff’s hand twitched again, brushing up and down her lips, and Annie could feel how wet she was getting.

 

She breathed deeply, in through her nose and out through her mouth.  Jeff’s hand twitched.  Annie’s hips rocked.  It seemed like it was happening every few minutes but Annie could scarcely focus on anything but the sensation between her legs.  She was desperately hoping Jeff wasn’t being disturbed.  Her breathing was getting heavier  and if her hips hadn't been involuntarily rocking back and forth just a bit, Annie might’ve thought to wonder when Jeff’s hand against her core had stopped twitching and his fingers had started actively moving but as it was, coherent thought wasn’t at the top of her priority list just then.

 

“How badly do want me to fuck you right now?  Do you think my fingers would be enough, babe?  Are you desperate for my cock yet?”  Jeff’s harsh whisper caused Annie to gasp, and her head dropped back, falling against his shoulder.  His fingers were working her up but not getting her anywhere and Annie knew that was the whole intent.

 

“I’m not desperate for anything…”  Annie’s breathless words weren’t particularly truthful and she wondered at her masochism for a moment.

 

“No?”  Jeff pinched her clit lightly, and Annie’s eyes rolled back for just a second, as her body bowed, seeking more friction.  “I think you’re lying, babe.”  His hand had worked it’s way inside her boxers and the touch of his hand to her bare clit had her hips canting forward.  Jeff’s free hand, previously resting above her head, began shifting Annie on to her back and his right hand continued working at her clit.  One finger teased at her opening and Annie could feel her wall clenching in anticipation.  Annie looked down and was gratified to see that Jeff was hard as a rock through his briefs.  Her right hand stroked him through the thin fabric and he cursed, not expecting her to do that.

 

“Hmm, look at that, looks like I’m not the only one in _desperate_ right now, love.  Do you have a preference?  Should I use my mouth?  How badly do _you_ want to fuck _me_ right now?”  Annie leaned up and used her left hand to pull his mouth down to hers.  Jeff rolled over her and thrust his hips right up against her core and Annie fought to get her boxers off with one hand.  Jeff helped and when they were finally low enough for her to kick off, Jeff started pushing his underwear down.  Annie expected him to enter her but he seemed content to flick at her clit and kiss her for the moment.  Annie remembered her earlier conviction to give Jeff a thousand blowjobs if it would make the situation better and here he was, pleasuring her instead.  Annie smiled against his mouth and pushed against his shoulder lightly.  Jeff moved away slightly, wondering if she wanted to stop entirely when she took the chance to flip them over.

 

Straddling Jeff, Annie tried to decide if she wanted to ride him or blow him. She rocked her hips over his as she thought, one hand against his chest, the other with a single finger tapping against her chin.  Jeff merely watched her, content to hold on to her hips.  Annie finally decided that after kissing Troy, she really wanted to re-familiarize herself with old friends.  She slid down until she was level with Jeff’s cock and kissed the tip.  The position was sort of awkward but it wasn’t the worst way she’d given a blowjob.  Never again would Annie attempt to go down on Jeff in a car.  At least, not from the passenger seat while he was driving.  Annie slid her tongue around his head and then took him deeper, suctioning her lips and letting him almost slide out of her mouth.  Jeff took the opportunity to scoot up a bit and Annie followed.  She brought her hands up to squeeze his balls gently and took him back into her mouth, teeth grazing slightly along his length.  It still wasn’t an ideal position but Annie did her best to deep throat him.  Jeff’s hands slid into her hair and his hips thrust only slightly.  Annie held it as long as she could before using her free hand to scrape her nails up and down his shaft while she focused on shallowly swirling her tongue around his tip.

 

Involved in her task as she was, Annie was unprepared when Jeff forcibly hauled her away from his cock and pulled up so she was straddling him.

 

“You wanted to be on top, right?”  Jeff didn’t wait for an answer, lining her up and pulling her hips down.  Annie relished the feeling for a moment.  She rose up and sank down shallowly, leaning forward to kiss Jeff as she did so.  His fingers were plucking at her nipples and she returned the favour, causing him to buck his hips up hard.  She laughed against his mouth.  “I have sensitive nipples, okay?”  He twisted his hips and Annie stopped laughing.  One hand continued playing with his nipple while the other slid down to her clit, and Annie flicked it gently.  Her walls clenched and Annie buried her face against Jeff’s neck, rocking her hips faster.  She kissed his neck, biting down gently, wondering how juvenile it would be to give him a hickey.  “You give me a hickey, Annie, I get to give you one.  Those are the rules that _you_ made.”  Annie bit down hard, sucking at his neck.  Jeff’s hands dropped from her breasts to her hips, pulling her down as he thrust up.  Annie leaned back just slightly to admire her work.  Jeff smirked, “You should see what I’m going to do to your neck in a minute.”

 

“Oh?”  Thirty seconds later, Annie was on her back as Jeff thrust into her as he licked and sucked at her neck, one hand steadying her hip and the other rubbing her clit.  Annie was pretty certain he was leaving more than one hickey but with so many points of stimulation, she was again at the point where she couldn’t quite focus on coherent thought.  They were both slick with sweat at this point and Annie was a little concerned she would be bowlegged in the morning but she could feel her orgasm coming.  Really, there was little Annie truly cared about besides Jeff right then.  Annie flicked at Jeff’s nipples, hoping he was as close as she was.  Jeff abandoned her neck and took a nipple into his mouth and bit down.  Annie briefly thought about it being close to 5AM but couldn’t quite stifle the moan-turned-high pitched scream that tumbled out as she came hard. 

 

Annie opened her eyes a few minutes later to Jeff panting into her chest and unmoving.  It didn’t seem like either of them were planning to move quite yet.  She ran her fingers through his hair, scratching down his neck and back up.  She was really hot and Jeff was like an oven on top of her but she wouldn’t have asked him to move for the world.  They lay there for a few more minutes before Annie finally found the energy to speak.

 

“Did I…  Did I black out?”  She wasn’t certain but she definitely didn’t remember Jeff coming and clearly, he had.

 

“Ah, yeah, babe, I’ve gotta admit…  You’ve been a couple of firsts for me but I never thought I would fuck a woman into unconsciousness.  Considering how long we’ve been having sex, it’s something I’m especially proud of.”  Annie slapped at his chest.

 

“Six years together and you’re still a jerk after sex?  Really, Jeff?”  The annoyance in her voice wasn’t fake but the fact that she continued running one hand through his hair belied her exasperated demeanour.  Annie waited a moment before asking her next question.  “So how long were you awake?”  Jeff carefully pulled out of her and rolled over, pulling Annie with him.  He reached into the bedside table and pulled out some baby wipes and tissue and cleaned up a bit before pulling the blankets over them.

 

“My arm was underneath me and I guess it brushed my nipple during one my twitches.  I woke up with my hand cupping your boob and I could feel you beside me periodically squeezing your legs together.”  Annie turned her head to stare at him.

 

“You were awake almost the entire time?”  Annie was incredulous.

 

“ _Almost_ the entire time?  You started the party _before_ that?”  Jeff was equally astonished.  Annie slapped at his chest again.  Jeff grabbed her in a bear hug against him, laughging.  “I love you.  Next time, if you want to have sex, just wake me up.  Even if I’m angry at you, I will want to have sex with you.  This is fact, Annie.  Although if you want to wake me up to watch you with Inspector Spacetime, that works too.”

 

“Hmm.  Duly noted.”  She lay there, fingers idly tracing the hickey she had given him.  She was starting to feel drowsy now that the post-sex haze was dying.  She glanced up only to realize Jeff was already out.  She glanced at the clock, noting it was just after 5AM.  Her alarm would go off in two hours.  Annie had already decided she would be ignoring it.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was the longest thing I have written, to date. Full disclosure: I accidentally copycatted myself in some of the smutty bits. I apologize. Bear with me, please!


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